The Resurrectionist by A.R. Meyering

If you enjoy gothic tales, then look no further than The Resurrectionist by A.R. Meyering. A chilling tale inspired by real events!

The Resurrectionist “Inspired by the true story of the Burke and Hare murders”

Publication Date: July 3rd, 2020

Genre: Supernatural/ Horror/ Fantasy/ Based on Real Life Characters

Synopsis:

Scotland, 1854

On a skinny, forgotten road in Edinburgh stood a shop without a name—a shop that could be found only if one had previously been led to its door. William, who was blind, rapped his knuckles on the door. The shop owner opens the door and says, “I recognize you. You’re the thief who slithered away while your partner swung by his neck.”

William begs the woman to break the curse that has been set on him that prevents him from dying. The curse, says the woman, cannot be broken, but it can be displaced. Is your death so precious to you that you would destroy one more innocent life to get it? The life of your own child?”

London 1895

In 19^th century Scotland surgeon Edgar Price has only days to live. He has become host to a revenant that will corrode both his body and soul. Edgar’s fatal mistake has not only doomed him, but also released six more of these malignant wraiths onto the world. In his remaining time, he has vowed to stop the revenants from claiming other victims. His perilous travels lead him to the Witches’ Wood, a haven for a sisterhood of powerful enchantresses. There he meets Ainsley, who is also racing against the clock to save her life and will go to any lengths to spare the life of her lover Colleen from the grief of losing her. Despite their mutual dislike, Edgar and Ainsley find that the only way to traverse the twisted, otherworldly labyrinths that the revenants have created is to work together. Their mission becomes further complicated when Edgar begins to develop feelings for Fana, the guardian goddess of the Wood in spite of Ainsley’s forbidding warnings to stay far away from her.

Though THE RESURRECTIONIST is a work of fantasy, many of the settings and elements are based on fact. Horror and fantasy intermingle in this novel inspired by the true story of the Burke and Hare murders.

From 1828-29, Irish immigrants William Burke and William Hare were responsible for the murders of sixteen people in Edinburgh. Their methods generally involved luring a victim to Hare’s boardinghouse, where they plied them heavily with alcohol before suffocating them. They were motivated by greed, selling the corpses of their victims to a local surgeon, Robert Knox. Each victim was publicly dissected, and Dr. Knox is largely thought to have been complicit in the crimes.

During their ten-month killing spree, William Hare’s common-law wife, Margaret Laird, was pregnant with their child. Hare was pardoned for his crimes due to his confession and condemnation of his accomplice Burke, who was hanged and publicly dissected as punishment.

After being pardoned, Hare, Margaret, and their infant are thought to have escaped to Ireland. It also has been rumored that William Hare was thrown into a lime pit and subsequently suffered blindness before becoming a beggar. The victims in THE RESURRECTIONIST are also based on real life people.

Reminiscent of Tess Gerritsen’s The Bone Garden, THE RESURRECTIONIST explores a real-life horror story through a riveting supernatural thriller that is guaranteed to hook readers from the very first page.

Available on Amazon

About the Author

A.R. Meyering was a graduate student studying philosophy. She has worked as an English teacher in a small town in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. Her dark fantasy novel, Unreal City, won a Literary Classics International Book Award gold medal for YA horror and a Moonbeam Award bronze medal in YA horror. While doing her undergrad in English she studied abroad in Edinburgh, focusing on Scottish occult literature and folklore.

Sadly, A.R. Meyering passed away in 2021.

A.R. Meyering

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The Antique Shop – A Short Story

*Parts of this story are true. I originally was going to post this last October but due to my father’s passing I held back. I would love to know what you think of the story. Please leave a comment.

The drive to Silver Lake was beautiful. The sunlight shone through the branches and hit the orange and yellow coloured leaves. Warm sun and the shadow’s coolness hung in the air. Silver lake looked dark and more black and the silver was lost in the water’s abyss. The town close by was busy and the coffee shops and restaurants were buzzing with people and an unusual swarm of wasps attacking people as they ate food on the patio. No people aloud to sit indoors due to the pandemic but that’s not the scary part of this story.

I expected the town to be a little more serene and quiet but it was busy as can be. After lunch I looked at my phone to check what stores were around. A chocolatier, a donut shop, books shops and coffee shops. I looked up and in the distance I could see an Antique Shop. I looked back down at my phone but it wasn’t listed on the map. I told my family that I wanted to check out the Antique shop and that I was looking for a vintage candle holder and hopefully a few vintage books.

We walked toward the shop and everything around me started to look broken down and damaged. Two puppies jumped up and appeared from a dirty house window. They scared me a bit but they were cute. One metre away from the store the smell of “old things” hung in the air. The windows yellow, old and dirty. Old knickknacks displayed in the windows with little white tags. I questioned my self. “Should we go in?”

We walked in and no one was there to greet us. I thought about how I wanted to find the book “Emma” written by Jane Austen. I started to feel a little strange. My finger touching the spines of the books and my family trying to pull me away to another area. I walk two steps away and two steps back to where I was looking and my finger pointed and pulled out a navy blue covered book. I looked at the title and it was “Emma” by Jane Austen. I looked at the book and quickly put it back feeling very strange and spooked to be honest. Of all the books the one that I wanted was here? The only thing I could think of was “this is creepy juju”.

As I walked through the shop the doll’s eyes followed me.

Sinister eyes…. following me.

I quickly walked away and told my family that we need to go. Two unkept little girls started to talk to my daughters. I pulled my girls away and headed toward the EXIT. They looked like the twins from “The Shining” and they were playing with dirty dolls.

On the way out my husband asked if they had a candle holder and the two old women Ethel and Wilma were at the cash. Ethel helped my husband find the candle holder and across from the cash sat their old son that looked like the boy from “13 Ghosts”. He looked at me in a creepy way. He got up and walked away. I looked at the cash register. A bowlful of garlic for sale? Why garlic? Vampires in the town? I was so curious and yet I wanted to get out of the store.

The space swallowed me up. In the beginning it seemed fine but by the end of our walk around the store my energy was gone… Dolls with eyes that stare into your soul… Statues, old bottles, tea cups and vintage clothing…books that speak in whispers…pulls of energy that suck the life our of you…”let’s go” I said “hurry!”

Photo Credit CANVA.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Book Review

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is a science fiction novel that dives deep into human emotions, questions existence and examines good versus evil. We all know the story so I thought! But it is nothing like it has been portrayed and nothing like I expected. Frankenstein is the Scientist and his creation is “the monster”. The writing is rich with so much emotion and has so much depth. It is beautifully written and it really captivated me with the tragic storyline and language.

About the story:

Frankenstein creates this monster and the monster learns to read and speak. He reads books and observes humans. He wants to be able to express him self and be a part of the people around him. He feels alone and one day approaches cottagers to ask that he stay with them. Because of his “hideous” appearance they run and scream away from him. The monster questions his own existence. The more he learns about humanity the more he feels alienated. He possesses nothing like the people around him.

“Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned? I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me: I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge.” Pg108

The monster fights with his emotions and his mind. He fights with nature and the elements around him. He feels so alone. He has no family, friends or loved ones. He has no recollection of being held by a mother and a father.

“But where were my friends and relations? No father had watched my infant days, no mother had blessed me with smiles and caresses;” pg.109

The book is written from different perspectives. One from the monster’s perspective and then from Frankenstein’s perspective. We also get dialogue from loved ones and other characters. Frankenstein feels sickened that he has created such a creature. The monster’s self hatred increases and he seeks to find Frankenstein to ask him to create a woman for him. Frankenstein’s discussion with the monster made me feel like I’m listening into their conversation and made me question who’s side I’m on. On one side I feel that creating yet another monster will not be a good idea and on the other hand the monster is so alone and empty inside and needs company. Frankenstein then describes how the monster is so evil and he fears that if he creates another like him it might be double the trouble. He also says that the female monster might find the original monster just as hideous and ugly.

Then the monster threatens Frankenstein. Frankenstein starts the second monster creation but stops. The monster intimidates Frankenstein and tells him that he will be there on his wedding day. Frankenstein feels that this is his doom. A destiny that can’t be avoided because he is the creator of this horrible creature.

By this point I dislike the creature because he has murdered people and now threatens Frankenstein. But then a part of me still feels bad for him because it is not his fault for looking the way he does or even for his existence. Should Frankenstein go through this torture from this monster? They both have their reasons and make decisions that challenge each other and their feelings and words create this dual friction. The monster says that his agony is superior to Frankenstein’s agony.

Mary Shelley creates this environment around each place that is so well balanced with the characters mood and feeling. I really envisioned many parts of story like the second monster laying there half created and specially the physicality of Frankenstein at the end of the book. There are so many beautiful parts to this story. It takes you on a journey and yes I cried at the end. I will not giveaway the ending. You must read this book. I listened to the book as I read along. It made it very enjoyable. This is on my list of favourite books ever!

5/5

Best Day To Cook: Easy Everyday Lighter Dinners At Home Part 2

Hello my lovely friends! I hope you are all well. I’ve been enjoying trying more recipes from my cook book collection and last week I made three recipes from the book* “Woman’s Day Easy Everyday Lighter Dinners” by Kate Merker and editors of Woman’s Day. I believe I won this book in the past. I find the recipes really easy and simple. Not complicated at all and the flavours are simple and delicious. Very easy to follow the recipes. The pictures are big and beautiful and the directions in the cook book are easy to follow.

The first recipe that I tried is absolutely delicious! “Pineapple and ham fried rice” on page 103.

Next recipe I tried is a “Sweet and spicy chicken stir fry” on page 40. My family loved this recipe as well. The snow peas were kindly given to me by my lovely neighbour. The snow peas were so delicious! Home grown veggies taste so good. I’m so grateful. They even gave me green beans. I grew some hot peppers and tomatoes and I offered them some as well. Next year I would like to plant some green beans, carrots and snow peas in my garden.

The third recipe I tried is the “Pork Chops with apricot rice”on page 23. Next time I will use bone-in pork chops instead. I like bone-in because I feel it has more flavour.

I really love this recipe book and I’m going to continue to make more recipes from this lovely cook book. It is very simple to use. The ingredients are light and healthy. Easy to follow and it has beautiful pictures that are bright and colourful. The cook book also includes calories, fat, sodium, carbs, fiber and cholesterol count. It also has Cooking tips. It is categorized by Main Courses, Sides and Desserts. I give this book a 5/5 stars. Fantastic!

*Referral Link. If you purchase book through the link I receive commission.

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Best Day To Cook: Easy Delicious Food At Home Part 1

I have a lot of lovely cook books in my collection and I’ve only tried a few recipes from them. It’s so funny but I love reading and looking at the pictures but never actually make any of them. It takes time to shop the ingredients and cook food that you hope your whole family will love. But I really want to make a change and I want to introduce more flavours and ingredients to my family. I want to explore more flavours and textures. I look forward to sharing my cook book journey with you. I hope you enjoy my post and future posts and I hope to inspire you to start cooking easy, delicious recipes at home.

I will start with my newest purchase. I was watching the Netflix series “Down to Earth” and in one of the episodes a lovely chef was featured. Her name is Ella Woodward and she is the writer for * Deliciously Ella . I tried a lot of her recipes and I absolutely love this cook book. Easy to follow recipes with simple ingredients that are so good for you. I’m not a Vegan but I do love eating healthy and I’m really enjoying this book. I feel that everyone can enjoy this book and not just Vegans.

The recipes that I made are as follows:

Pan Fried balsamic tomatoes Pg. 30

Chunky Italian Soup Pg. 141

Nut Butter chocolate chip cookies Pg.

Crunchy Mexican Salad Pg. 125

the Dressing & Dip from the Crunchy Mexican Salad is a huge success at our home. Pg. 125

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Pg. 206

Tahini Cookies Pg. 194

The chocolate chip banana bread is absolutely moist and delicious. I love it so much and it’s so simple and easy to make. It tastes wonderful and I will be using this recipe for my banana bread from now on. My family loves it.

These cookies didn’t last long at all. Delicious!

I love the dressing of course and so did the family. The church to this salad is lovely and the dressing is perfection.

If you haven’t pan fried tomatoes with onions with balsamic vinegar you need to try this. It’s absolutely delicious! My mouth waters every time I think about this recipe.

The first cookies to finish in a matter of seconds!

Dressing & Dip from the “Crunchy Mexican Salad” recipe on pg. 125

The famous dip that my family asks for every other day is from the “Crunchy Mexican Salad” dressing/dip on Pg. 125. My husband and children do not like cilantro and there is a handful of it in this recipe and they love it! My husband also doesn’t like creamy consistency and creamy recipes but he LOVES this dip/dressing. A favourite!

Overall I love this * cook book and I will be making all the recipes. I’ve never been this excited for a cook book. I will continue sharing more recipes and cook books from my collection with you. I am very exited! Thank you so much for reading my blog post. Have a lovely day!

*Referral Link. I added a link to the book. If you purchase the book I make commission from Reward Style.

I give this book a 5/5 on my cook book list.